Is the JP50 the answer?

[tonypeps]

Hey everyone,

My brother just asked me if I knew of an affordable guitar with a floating trem that doesn't suck. He's a graduate student at New England Conservatory and, for fun, he submitted "For the Love of God" as a piece he wanted to play at his senior recital. To his surprise, they actually approved it, so now he needs a guitar with a floating trem to play it.

I told him to check out the JP50, though I've never played one. So I'm asking anyone here who has played it, is it up to the task?

Thanks,
Tony

 

[Dante]

it's a steve vai song... how much whammy abuse does it involve??? personally, if it's serious, id take something that won't fail me. imagine showing up and going out of tune mid song. maybe the Sterling version of the axis with floyd rose?

 

[PeteDuBaldo]

The JP50 certainly fits the bill. It is affordable (around $549) and the trem can take some serious abuse. We have had several come through the store and people love them.

 

[Dante]

so it can do vai stuff?... wow

 

[Jack FFR1846]

He can try one out at GC in Boston. They've got a bunch and they're right down the street.

 

[patpark]

the ax40 is not a floating trem. the JP50 does float but does not have a locking nut. JP50 has locking tuners and they do work well with typical trem use. If your going to go for more extreme trem usage a double locking unit would be the absolute best.

My personal JP50, I lubed the nut w/ Nutsauce and keep an eye on the set up and can get pretty wild with the bar once the strings settle in.

 

[Hendog]

You can absolutely beat that trem silly.

The JP50 is perfect for your friend unless he wants to spend more than $550.

 

[B2D]

Having tried the JP50, I'd say it could handle a good amount of trem abuse as long as you set it up right, lube it at the nut, etc. It's an excellent guitar.

 

[tonypeps]

Thanks for the advice all. He's going to check one out at GC tonight. I'll let you know what he says.

Tony

 

[koogie2k]

so it can do vai stuff?... wow

It is up to the player... Not the guitar. So, yes, it can do vai stuff if the person holding the guitar can play it. I mean... Really???? You don't have have vai's guitar to play his tunes.

 

[ScoobySteve]

I would actually really like to try the SBMM line.

My church bassist plays a SBMM Sb14, and absolutely loves it. The quality was superb, so I can only imagine it would be the same.

 

[PaoloGilberto]

I have the JP6 fully loaded. I love this guitar

doing more extreme stuff like Vai does in my opinion it is not for this kind of guitar.
it is not for what it was built. JP does not do such "extreme" tremolo stuff like Vai.
and as I saw it does not stay in tune when using a lot the tremolo.

Like a guy said here on the forum: "if you want a fender sound get a fender, if you want a Gibson sound get a Gibson..."

 

[nathanhny]

The JP50 is one of the best affordable guitars i've played. It has one of the best trem systems compared to other guitars in that price range. Depends on how 'rough' you are with the whammy bar

 

[D.K.]

I've had 8 or 9 Petruccis and I can only say that it of course does all the Vai stuff!!! There is no limitations to the tremolo use whatsoever - provided it's set up right.

For that matter, I played a lot of Vai stuff with my hardtail Morse - and yes, even without a trem You can play "Blue Powder", "For the love of God" and such. It's up to You, not the locking nut on Your neck.

 

[tonypeps]

FYI, he bought the JP50 and used it in his weekly instructional video. Check it out.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwpngZ6BTOs"]YouTube- Weekly Axe Kicking #14: Hammered-on Chords[/ame]

 

[patpark]

looks like he is enjoying the JP50!

 

[tonypeps]

If there was any doubt whether or not the JP50 could handle Vai, here is my brother's recital performance.

[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRb4VsMXlBw"]YouTube- For The Love Of God[/nomedia]

Tony

 

[patpark]

sounds great! Your brother plays great

Thanks for posting.

 

[MrLovejoy]

Although that song has lost some of it's soul to the hordes of youtubers and guitar hero kids overplaying iy, your brother does it service!

He seems to be enjoying that JP50. What kind of finish does it have on it?

 

[tonypeps]

It's the standard finish, not the black one.